Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/4235

This work is posted on eScholarship@BC,Boston College University Libraries.

Published in Journal of Turkish Studies, vol. 18, pp. 201-224, 1994

Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the CreativeCommons "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States" (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/)

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph: Anintroduction to the Islamic humanities

Author: James Winston Morris

Dramatizing the Sura ofJoseph: An Introduction to the Islamic Humanities. In AnnemarieSchimmel Festschrift, special issue of Journal of Turkish Studies (H8lVard), vol. 18(1994), pp. 20\·224.

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph: An Introduction to the Islamic Humanities. InAnnemarie Schimmel Festschrift, special issue of Journal of Turkish Studies(Harvard), vol. 18 (1994), pp. 201-224.

DRAMATIZING THE SURA OF JOSEPH:AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ISLAMIC HUMANITIES

James W. MorrisJ

"Surely We are recounting 10 you the most good-and-beautiful of laJes ...."(Qur'an. 12:3)

Certainly no other scholar of her generation has dooe mae than Annemarie Schimmel to ilIwninal.e thekey role of the Islamic hwnanities over the centuries in communicating and bringing alive for Muslims theinner meaning of the Quru and hadilh in 30 many diverse languages and cultural settings. Long before aconcern with '"populal'," oral and ve:macul.- religious cultures (including tKe lives of Muslim women) hadbecome so fashK:inable in religious and bi.storica1 studies. Professor Scbimmel's anicJes and books wereilluminating the ongoing crutive expressions and transfonnalions fA Islamic perspectives in both written andorallilrnblr'es., as well as the visual ar:1S, in ways tba have only lllCentIy begun 10 make their war into widerscholarly and popular understandings of the religion of Islam. And even a superfacial examinalJon of thosewritings will suuest how widely and profoundly the Islamic humanities, in the most diverse cultunlsettin.~- have been influenced by figures and tbcmes drawn from the Quranic scory of Joseph and re1aledIslamktraditions.

However. anyone writing or teaching about the Islamic hwnanities, in virtually any ..ea or cultunJsetting. quickly eocowtet:rs a fundamental pedagoaical obstacle. Put simply, the problem is that the musical.artistic. ritual. philosophic or poetic expressions of the Islamic humanities, especially from Persianale andother 1Ddl>European cultures. are typically far more immcdialdy accessible to co.teempcnry Wesrem stude.us(of any age or ICholarty dilCipline) than their original hlarnic "sources" and inspirations in the Quran andbadilll (and rdaIed ArIIric ..Ug.... sciences). At best. die: available scoondaty and hiSlOrica1 studies of dlelsWnic bumanities I)'picalJy tend to SUUCSl some of the isoIaIed symbols, images and motifs that are canic:dover from those religious sources. while only rarely com.mwUcating something of their more profound linksw;1Il die:_, pcteJUUa1 spUiwaJ. edUca1, ~ysical and dlcolog;callhemes and concerns that ... infaa central 10 the Quran and the re&c:vant hadith lilefahlre. The first, unavoidable pedagogical challenge istherefore bow 10 communicate to conlemporal)' students, wjthou~ any familiarity with a traditional Islamicculture, the essential inner c:oonections between the foundational Quranic perspectives and their subsequentexpressions in the Islamic hUlfUWlities: this can only be done (just as in the d.irc:ct study of those larer Islamicartists. musicians and poetS) by awakening the students' awareness of the ImlMdlate manifestations of thoseQuranic~ve:s in an the relevant areas of their own lives and culture. .

The coUective dramatization of key episodes from the QuT'anic story of Joseph, along with intensivediscussion of what students come to learn from that dramatization. is one effective pedagogical tool forawakening that indispensable personal realiz.ation of the pezennial maniIesuttions of key Qui'anic themes andconceptS. For the Sura of Joseph, while relatively short, iIIl1$U1ltes vinually all the fundamental features ofthe Quranic discourse and outlook which have remained central throughout centuries of later elaboration inthe Islamic humanities. Here we can ooly mention a few of the most important of those points:

t. Dramatizing this Sura. with its focus on the intelplay between the spiritual life and its outerethical and political occasions and manifestations, beautifuUy iIIustrales the repeated fundamerualQuranic assertions about the divine "Book" and the archetypal. constantly repeated nature andspiritual purpose of the ''tesu'' and "likenesses" and "stOrics" mirroring and constituting our humanexistence - claims that are reassc:rted. in the suongest possible leI'11lS, in the opening and dosingframo-v..... of this cI1apta' of die: Qur'an.

2. 'The structun fA discourse in this Sura clearly and repeatedly brings out the defining featuresof Qurlanic discourse - and its corresponding metaphysical claims or assumptions - asdramatically ~fied bj' the consaantly fluid. oreen indeterminate shins i. ~np«tlve (alike oftime. tense, identity and relationship), both "within" the overarthing divine Voices and"between" those mysterious Spc:aker(s) and the more visible actors in the recurring human dramaStudents altem~~g to act out that drama quickly come to see how, in terms or today'shumanities, per only "cinematic" (or possibly musical) means would be adequate to COIlveymis constant simultaneity - and resulting ambiguity - of the different levels or divine and hwnanpei~tivewhich is such a central feature of QurlUtic disa>urse and its claims about the nature ofbeing. l Above all. anyone anempting to act out mis story is obliged to enlage the primordial

lor course, in the classical Islamic humanities themselves. there are also any number of renw:bbleartistic iUusuations of this typically Quranic pc:ispective lO be found among the surviving examples of

201

James Morris

mystery of the identity and reality of the intimate. singular "YOll" throughout the Sura - i.e.• theultimate "addressee" of this divine Speech - at a level which immediately goes beyond the safedistance of a purely conceptual or analytical inquiry. That engagement, in turn, leads to the sort ofongoing reflection on the interplay between the divine "Names" (or rather, their underlyingRealities) and their manifestations in the world and our experience - i.e., the Quranic "Signs" ofGod - which is indispensable for beginnmg any serious approach to the Quran and i~ subsequentre<rearions in the Islamic humanities.

3. Most importandy, the Swa of Joseph not only introduces virtually all of the spiritual virtuesmentioned in the Quran <at fnt as rather unfamiliar Arabic concepts or symbols), but it actuallyiUUSU3leS the inevitably personal and dramalie process of individual discovery, of "initiation"and spiritual pedagogy I through which each human being gradually diSCOVers the reality and exist­ence of those virtues (or one's intimar.e relationship to the Divine) through their contrast with thereceived structure of humanly conventional (social. ethical and politicaJ) "virtues" that each of usordinarily - or at least initially - takes to be most real. As with any play. the demands of drama­tization2 oblige each panicipant to (a) rediscover for each character the corresponding sibJations,motives and inspirations (or sometimes the lack thereoI) within his own worLd and experience; and(b) recognize clearly and reflect upon the decisive tmeXplained "leaps" within the Quranic nanative.those moments which almost always presuppose a critical spiritual uansformation or "intervention"of divine Grace (e.g.• in order to bring about true Forgiveness, the actual realization of the a11­encompassing creative divine Love. rahma).

Allhe very least. then. acting out key sections of the Sura will almost inevitably bring to light. for anyserious panicipant, the decisive, troubling conuast (at key moments in our own lives. or in more publicevents) between our outwardly inexplicable knowledge of proper conduct and the visible demands ofsociallyand culturally supported norms and expectations; the actual dependence of those memorable moments ofethical (or spiritual, artistic. etc.) reali.z.ation on some "external" Grace or illuminating power; and the strange"untranslatability" of the inner- reality of those situations imo everyday language and categories of explana­tion. At best, funher reflection on those experiences triggered by the process of dramatization, and anexpanding consciousness of the inner "hypocrisy" (to use the Quranic expression) underlying so much ofeach penon's conduct in the world. may lead more reflective students toward a deeper awareness of the linksbetween such inner states and the more visible manifestations of human evil and self-destructiveness in theworld. The same process of reflection. if it is sustained long enough. will eventually lead to a growingappreciation of the inner unity of the spiritual virtues (as different manifesWions of the divine Presence inwhat we perceive as outwardly different situations). and ultimately toward a heightened awareness of thewider metaphysical, eschatological and soreriological perspectives within which the Qur'an itself presentsthese recunent human diSemmas.

For initial study purposes. students may find helpful the outline provided in the Appendix(immediately following the translation) of the main "spiritual categories" or key Quranic virtues (and theircontraries) ilIusuated in the course of this drama - keeping in mind that the most illuminating episodes areusually those ironic ones revealing the Jadical contraSt between the acwal reality of those spiritual virtues andthe unconsciously "hypocritical" versions assumed by the unenlightened actors. The most important of thosespiritual virtues. as weU as many of the other key themes in the Sura. are at leasl brieny explained andintroduced in a foomoJe to the verse where mey first arise.

1llE TRANsLAll00

TIle distinctive features of any version of the Quran (surely a more accurate tenn than "translation,"given me challenges involved) are necessarily dictated by the audience(s) and pedagogical purposes involved.The one offered here is necessarily a compromise between the two conflicting demands of a minimal degreeof English readability required by students (and sometimes teachers) without any acquaintanee with theArabic text and related Islamic background. and the ideal of a kind of "literalness" that would actually begin10 convey something of the full strangeness and incomparability of the form. struCtW'e and contents of the

miniature painting from the later Eastern Islamic world. while the masterpieces of classical"mystical" poetry,in whatever Islamic language. provide the perfect exemplification of this fundamental feature of Quranic<liscoune.

2Requlrements which are of courSe no different from that active and engaged reading of ScriplUre thateventually gave rise to the different expressions of the Islamic humanities. However, such fully "partici­patory" reading is not only an increasingly rare skill among contemporary studenlS, but would of~ bean enormous chanenge (given present translations of the Quran) for even the most committed and diligentstudent working solely in English. without a profound knowledge of Arabic and related Islamic b'adition.

202

/

.'

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

original. Without anempting to explain or justify each choice, a few basic points - especially features that~not found in most published versions of the Quran - should be kept in mind in reading or acting out thischapw.

First. the strange mix~n-paaenecessary to convey something of the constant shifts in ambiguities ofperspective and identity throughout this drama is by no means limited to this Sura: in fact it constituleS &hemost fundamenraJ and inimitable feature of Quranic discourse., and one that has continued to inspire many ofthe most memorable creations of the Islamic hwnanities, in music and the visual arts as well as through &hewritten and spoken word.

SecoadIy, the foomotes are limited to infonnalioo that will hdp provtsJe fust-time readers with somesense of the l.tU1tal Qur'an.ic cootu.t and of the essential inner "connections" with more general Quranictbcmes and conceptS or symbols that would usually be obvious 10 larer Muslim readers - i.e., the creaton ofthe Is1arn.ic humanities - reading this Sun. from the vantage point of a thorough acquaintanee with the entireQuran.3 To keep such notes 10 a minimum, those key themes and conceptS have usually been discussedonly It their flJ'St appearance, while Ihe most important or untranslatable ones have been presented in smallcapitals throughout the Ir8nSlation, to remind readen of their "technical" nature and of the more adequateexplanation of the underlying Arabic at the initial DOle. In gc:nera1. the translation has been kept as .,itenJ"and non~planatory as possible, although that often sounds c1wnsy or unnatural in English, since so muchof the essential iDdetenninacy4 and multivalent meaning of the text - features which have inspired so rMnydifferent and creative inlCrpretalions by later Muslim authors - are necessarily lost in a more "explanalOry"translation. This is especially important foc bringing out the avowedly central symbolic and archetypal

r eschatoqical and metaphysical dimensions of the discussion. which are inevitably diminished if the Sura isviewed simply as another retelling of a supposedly more familiar Biblical narrative.'

DRAMATIC SIIUJCruRE

"The concluding verse of the Sura stresses that the underlying lesson of this chapter, for the aulyqualified and attentive readers or listeners, is 10 be found in ....heJr srorics" - that is 10 say. in the actions.motives and transformations of all of the characters. And later creators of the cJas:sjcal1slamic humanitiesoften found their inspiration through focusinl in 00 the spiritual meaning and perception of those samestories from the pelspective of charac1en (especially Jacob and '"Zulaykhaj who are not likdy to be at theforefront of int.eresl for those discoVering this text for the fn time. (On the Olher hand., the dramatization ofthis story is li.kc:ly 10 bring out the greater familiarity and immediacy of certain actors. like Joseph', brothersor Zulaykha.'s 'friends: whose roles were obvious 10 the traditional commentators.)

However, the: Sura as a whole, viewed from the externally central standpoint of the: story of Joseph (andhis family). has a remarkably classical. almost mathematical harmony and symmel?:, as indicated in thefoUowing summary outline:. Apart from the: framing verses outlining the universal sigRiflcance of the "story"and its ongoing recurrence in the world, the fltSt half recounts Joseph's own trials and ascension, using &hewider eschatological and metaphysicaJ symbolism and perspectives of the Quran. as an archetypal "likeness"for the process of the gradual spiritual perfection and reaUntion of the prophets and saints (and at leastpotentially, of each human soul). The second half then portrays the SOteriologicai role and far-reachingactivities and perspectives of the prophets and saints (and of divine Providence more generally) as they"return" 10 share their transformed realization of the nature of things with the rest of humanity. according tothe very different aptitudes and situation of each soul. In both parts, of course, the intermittent chorus ofdivine Voices (the mysterious "We" and other RaiTBtors) and the usually silent presence of Jacob provideconstant spoken and silent "commenwies" on the inner meaning and personal relevance of this divineComedy from even broader perspectives.

In.is means that foc the particular pwposes of this study, it is possible to leave out a wide range ofobvious historical and philological questions that would naturally interest those studying: this chapter from- rcspoctivcs.

E.8.• the Jack of idenbfica1.ion (or the higbly symboliC naRlC!) of so many of the speakers. the uncer­tainty about the time or ''location" of key events, Dd the sudden. unexplained shifts in subjcct.location. andnarraive perspective (or divine '"commentll)'j.

SAny dramatization or discussion of this Sura (focused on its meaning within Islamic culture) mustsurely begin with the remarkably wide..flVlging claims of its importance and ramifications in the openina: anddosing verses.

203

James Morris

Structure of the Drama

PROLOGUE: verses 1-3

PART t Joseph's Tests (verses 4-S1)

4-6: Beginning: Joseph's Vision and Jacob's response.7-18: Joseph and his brothers' "scheming"; Jacob's reaction.

19-34: Joseph in PoIip/IIr's bouse (ZuIaykha one! dle ICheminl women: Joseph's r"" _).35-49: Josepb in Prison and his "'Two Companions" (Joseph's final test: the nnscendeDCe or

dua1ity Ihrough the realization or divine Unicity). •

Q.lMAX (S().57): The CICbaIok>IiaJ pexspective realized: revc:nal orf~ revelation of hidden sins andscheminl. u1....... reward lIId esc:ha.,logical boJance; Joseph as .... Viceroy (khanr.) or "die Kinl.-

PART D: The Brothers' Tesu and the Passion orJacob (verses 58-101)

58-69: FltSt ICSt/rOund-Uip and revelation to Benjamin.

7Q-92; Scc:aJd testJround-aip IWld forgiveness c:I txotbers.93-101: Fmaljoumey InC! reconciliation: the truth or Joseph's vision, and Jacob's Insight n::sttnd..

CODdudinl Divine Comroencary (vc:nes 102-111)

1lIE"ACTORS"

M we have .ue.dy noted., the most fundamental ambiguity in regard to this SW'8 (and much or the restor the Quran as wen) has to do not with the acton, but the intended "audience": who is the ">'0." (in thesingular) thai is the primary object ol the eternal (or extra-tempenl) divine Address? At times, of course.that figwe seems to be Joseph himself, or sometimes Muhammad, but the Sura (and the ~an) loses muchof its dramatic power if its reader (or lisIcner) refuses to acknowledge that often some part or dimension ofeacb of us is being addressed - a dimcnsioo which, as other passages or the Quran more strongly andopenly suuest. mar somehow oonnec:t us with each or the popheb, and beyond them, with those mysleri­ous and teeum:rlt divine "Names" wfiich ror later Muslim intcrprdetS became the keys to their many inter­prt:taions of this sacred "Recitation."

A second fundamental point 10 keep in mind is the frequent ambiguity (or deeper meaning) of each ofthe identifications of the characters in this story - both essential features that powerfully hi,b1ight thearchetypal, recurrent nature or the drama recomted here. In the list of actors below we have sometunes addedem parentheses) the traditional names or identifictions of eenain acton, but the special significance of certainnames actually used in the QurMic account (especially of the two Rulers who precede and devale Joseph) isexplained in the footnotes where those titles fim appear. FinaDy, serious studenrs of this text should alwayskeep in mind the silent, unspea1r::inl witnesses and actors - and not only s,uch central silent presences asSatan (ShaytAn) and Jacob. As in the history around us (and even more obviously in sacred history), themeasure or the spiritual silnificance and experience of each character may have little enoulh to do with theirspoken words or the public visibility of their role. Here, for example, Joseph's mother only appears silentlyat the very end (verse 100) - but elevated, together with Jacob, to the vice-regal Throne.

The 0>anIctas

-'

Fast NARRATORdivine ""WE"IN11!RNAL N...-'i-OSEI'H"HIS BRamER" (Benjamin)"HIS FATHER" Oaoob)dle SilAYT,(IIhis (ocher) BRarHERSWA1ER-BEARER (and the caravan)the DEARlMKiHrY-oNE (ai_cAm: later Joseph's own

tide: Potiplw)

his WIFE (ZuIaykha)WITNESS from their househoklWOMEN of the citynYO Fal.OW~PIUSONERS

llIEKINODIGNITARIES of the royal courtroyal MESSENGERJoseph's MANSERVANT'S• HERAlD• bearermGOOD NEWShis MOTHER (silendy)

6Who may of course be identical with the divine "'We" (or some pan of that Voice), or with the fmr._.

Dramatizing the Sura ofJoseph

TIlE SURA OF JOSEPH

Frame NARRAlOR Divine ''WE'' ACIURS INNER "ASIDfS"

In the name of God. 11IB Au._LoVlNO.7 TIlE Au.-COMPASSIONAl'E

(l] AlifLIm 1U:8 Those are the SIGNs of the 8001[9making-elear.

Indeed We have sent Itdown. as a REcrrATION10(Qur'An) in Arabic, SO that you-aU might-We, We are recounting to you the most good­and-beautiful of tales through what Wehave inspired to you, this Recitation - eventhough before It you were among theheedIess-ones.

When Joseph said to his father:''0 my dear-father, 11 I indeed, I have seen

eleven planets and the sun and the moon: I sawthem bowing down to me'"

[5j He said:''0 my dear-son, do not recount your vision to

your brothers, for they are devising a scheme against

7al·RahmAn: This divine Name. which appears together with its related intensive fann al·Rahim ar:the beginning of au but one of die chapters of the Quran, is distin$.uished both by its frequency and by itsspecial closeness to the all-enoompassing divine Name "God" (Allah) (e.g., 17:110). While its Arabic rootincludes derived meanings of "mercy" and "compassion:' its much wider meaning in the Quranic context­where, evoking its original etymological reference to the womb. it conveys the alI-encompassing "Maternal"creativity and caring of the Creator for aU creatures - can only be approximated in English by Ihe closelyrela1ed religious dimensions ofdivine "Love." How thar: Love can in fact be the most profound and essentialdivine Atbibute, despite the recurrent human experiences apprently suggesting otherwise, is precisely thecenlral theme and argument of this Sura.

8The numerical equivalents of these three separate Arabic letters - which were also used as numbers andhave often been seen as keys to the meanings of the similar mysterious figures at the beginning of manySuras - are 1.30 and 200.

9The Quranic contexts of this recurrent expression (appearing some 230 times) make it clear that thereference here is to the divine "archetype" or eternal Reality expressed in all of Creation as weU as in all theprophetic "revelations" - which in the Quran clearly include the spiritual Realities or "persons" of all theprophets. as well as the particular oral or wrinen messages some of them have set fonh.

The central Qur'anic expression Aya (occurring almost 400 times. and often translated. in other contextsas "miracle" or even "verse" of the Quran itselO refers - as at verse 105 below - to the inner reality of allphenomena and experience (see 41:53) as "signs" or symbols pointing human beings toward an awareness oftheir divine Ground and Source (and toward the specific divine "Names" manifested in each of thoseparticular Signs). Again the drama of this Sura turns almost entirely on the contrasting states of the aetOfS'relative awareness or uncOllStiousness of the constant presence and meaning of those divine SIGNS.

IOQur'an (usually associated. with an Arabic root referring to ''recitation'' or "reading'') is only one of aconsiderable number of different terms used in the Qur'an ilself to refer to various aspects of the revelation toMuhammad. As throughout the Qur'an, the Voice of the mysterious divine "We" that enters the Sura herestands outside or beyond the passage of earthly time in such a way that it is often difficult or eveni~ble to be swe just who the "you" being addressed actuaUy is.

11Here, as throughout the Sura., Ihe special relations between Joseph and Jacob are marked by thedistinctive use of an intimate, familiar form of address that stands in marked contrast to the fonnal languageused by the other brothers - and which also gradually turns out 10 mirror the personal relatiooshif. of each ofthose characters with that particular aspect ofGod referred to as their own "RABB" (see n. 14 below.

205

James Maris

you. The ShaJlin is indeed for INSAN12 an enemymaking<lear!

(Jacob 10 Joseph? - or "We"JNarraror13 (to whom)?]And that is how your RAn l4 picks you out, andcauses you to ICNOWl~ through FlNDlNo-11Il!.·1NNU·MEANING cI wtw-<::omes-ro be.16 and fulfills Hisblessing upon you and upon the people of Jacob. asHe fulflllcd His blessing upon your rwo fathers before.AbrBham and Isaac. Indeed your R.ua is Au..KNow1NoAlL-WlsEI

[NarraJOI'?rWe"?]: So in Joseph IIld his _there was: uely a SIGN far those who-question·and-inquire.

WIlen they Slbd:"Now Jooepb IIld his brother ale moo: dearlybeloved by our fMhc:r than us, though we are atipdcnit bunch: Cenainly our father is dearlygone asaray'"

[Wbo? The Shay"'? One of the _?J:"Kill Joseph! Or lOSS him ow. on someearth. (so 1hat) your lacher's regard may be

12Throughout the (Juran this key cerm rcfc:n to the ..thcomor:phic." spiritual reality of every hwnanbeing - "prc-existing" (in the Quranic accoulu) the aeau:d. pan-animaJ mortal form of O:clay" referred to asbasbar (n. 30 below) - or that manifestalion of the unaeaJed divine "Spirit of God" (ruh AllAh, at verse87 below) whose mysterious inner relationship with God is precisely what this Sura is intended toilluminate.

The oonnst berween divine ani! "Satanic" (or ordinary hwnan) "scheming" and Hconaiving" (byd,mallar) is of course a central theme throughout this chaplet. which Jraduall.r reveals how the convolul.edworkings of IbIislSMaD themselves eventually tum out to be an "iIlummating, an essential pert. of the muchwger divine "'scheming"l0~I about the spirilUal education and maturity of human beinp.

13AA often in this Sura (and throughout the Quran) this verse seemingly begiJu with Jacob addressingJoseph, but by the end (and certainly by the following verse) it is not at all clear which Voice is speaking ­and above aU, who is being addressed.

14nais key term is used more than a thousand times in the QITan - usually as an emotionally cta.gedform of address or reference evoking our '"personal," most powerfully real and intimate exislcntial relationshipto some aspect of the divine (and far less commonly OW'" relation to an earthly "'master"). The Arabic root ispowerfully lWOciated - especially in this religious context - with the meaning of a parent lovingly anddevol.edly "raising" or "laklnl care or' and educating a dependent child. As with much of the Qur)anicvocabulary drawn from contexts of responsibility and hierarchical relationship, it is devoid of the strong andprcdominanU)· negative (or else vaguely Christological) associations 01 any of the usual English equiva&cntssuch as "Lord." One of the cenual themes of this Sura is the dramatic. often highly ironic ways the actorsgradually discover the actual intimate reality of their own RAIl.

l~"KNowlNa" in this special sense of divinely inspired spiritual awareness r 11m) is one of the centralspiritual vlrtues in the Quran (appearinl almost 900 times), and also provides a clear illustration of the'"pedagogical" relationship between the divine HNames" and their human manifestations. As illustratedtfiroughOUt this Sura. the term typically refers to dircd (non-conccptUal) hwnan awareness of God and thespiritual world, of the inner nature of things and the ultimate realities underlying the phenomenal andhistorical world. AA mentioned repeated in this Sura (espcc:ia1ly by Jacob), this rare knowing is IIvCII byGod. and its hwnan locus is the Heart (qalb. I.bb. elC.). The Quranic lerm is also intimaldy conncaedwith the central symbolic families, especially prominent in this Sura. of images of Siahl and Upt. Its keycontraries, ironically illusuated Ihroughout this drama. include "ignorance" or "foolishness" (jahl). "heed._" (ahaIIa), ond \Ill_fully "rejectins" ()( "coven_s up' God', SlONS O"d,), ele.

lfiya)W11 aJ·ahlcfilh: The fllSt temI of this key phrase refers to "taking (things) back to the rLrSt," 10their ultimate Source, while the second refers 10 whatever "comes to be" - certainly not particularly to"dreams" (el. same terms u verses 21, 44-45, and )(x).1Ol). This~t contrast (cf. verses 2. 45. andtOO-lOt) between trUe spiritual "vision" or uw,ht and the "dreamlike" illusion of whal most peopleordinarily take 10 be most "'real" is perhaps the most obvious wUfying theme and lesson of the entire Sura.

206

..

•

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

left for you-all alone. And after that you­all can be a group DOING-WHAT-IS-RlGKT!,,17

[IOJ On. of them. speaking. said:"Don't kill Joseph. but throw him in the hidden­deplb of Ibe well, (so thaI) some caravan may pickhim up, if you-all are indeed doing (what youpropose):'

They said:"0 our father, why do you not have FAlllI18 in usregarding Joseph, though surely we are sincerelymeaning him weill? Send bim with us tomorrow,(so that) he may run around and play. Cenainlyw..... protecting him!" -:------.tWs~1'-/'1

[IS] Then when they took him with them and agreed -1 .together that they would put him in the hidden- t s:e~ e.('~"lO.deprh of the well. W. ;::::Un him: :>l<ee:r~f{;",«(.«l)

"SW'ely you wiD in them of this affairof theirs, wbile they are (still) unaware!"

And they came to their father in the night (or. 'night­blind,' 'dim"'5ighled'J, crying.

They said:"0 our father, we, we went off trying to get

ahead of one ar..:>ther. and we left Joseph backwith our plsse~ions. So the wolf ate him up!"

"But yOll don't have FAITH in us, even if wewere~. rA.K'1.NG-TRtJIHFl.JI.LY1,19

And they came with lying blood upon his shirt. He• said:

"No, on the contrary: your souIs20 (your"NAfS") have seduced you into some affair'"

17whether the speaker here is meant to be "Satan" directly, or one of the brothers speaking for him, thispassage powerfully introduces the Sura's fundamental and constantly ironic contrast between conventionaUyand socially sanctioned"v~" and the infinirely rarer spiritual virtues exemplified by Jacob and (eventu­ally) Joseph. The key Arabic root s-I.h ordin~ly refers to whatever is "right" in the sense of "fitting" or"appropriate" or "healthy" in a given situation, but the Qur)anic usage consistendy joins and precedesreferences to the "right things" (al·silihAt) with the essential pre·condition of "having FArm" timAn: seefollowing note). The difficulty and rarity of that precondition is amply illustrated in the rest of this chapler.

18fhis Sura is fuU of ironic plays on a single Arabic root e.m.n) that refers to the experience of trUSt,confidence, safety and 8SSwance, and wbich always evokes in this Quranic context the key spiritual virtue ofimi. (occurring almost 900 times in the Qur)an). ImAn is the condition of faith, inner peace and absoluteassurance, implicit confidence and row trust, granted by God (and intimately connected with the Qur)anicsymbolism of Light and Knowledge). Its most frequently mentioned "contents" or perceptions include thereality and presence of God, the angels. and all the divine "Books" and Messengers. The term and its rootare completely unrelated to any conceptual notion of "belief' (as it is often fatally mistranslated in English),and its nearest Qur)anic equivalents are rather absOlute certainty (yaqin) of the Truth or divinely inspired"KNOWING" ('::i1m; n. 15 above).

19Sidq (and related epithets such as al...sidiqun. or al-Siddiq later applied ro Joseph. together appear·ing more than 150 times in the Quran) is one of the most untranslatable of the spiritual vinues mentionedthere: it means recognizing and acknowledging the truth of what is actually True or Real - and ultimatelytherefore discerning the divine Presence and inrentions behind the superficial appearance of things. Thatrealization is made possible by the rare stale of inner sincerity, purity, total confidence and trust (in God).and one very outward expression of that spiritual state is the more mundane sense of "sincere truth-telling"that is assumed by the brothers (and our usual translation of that root) here.

20Much like the English expression "the self." the Arabic term nafs has a wide range of possiblemeanings in the Quran. from a simple reflexive pronoun ("oneselt") to much deeper psychological and evenmetaphysical or theological dimensions (especially as "soul," connected with its Arabic root refetence to

'}fJ7

I,

Errata: Verses 13 and 14 (see below) were inadvertently left oul of the published translation:

1101 One of them, speaking, said:"Don't kill Joseph, but throw him in

the hidden-depth of the well, (so thaI) somecaravan may pick him up. ifyou-all are indeeddoing (what you propose)."

They said:"0 our father, why do you not have

faith in us regarding Joseph, though surely weare sincerely meaning him well!? Send himwith us tomorrow, (so that) he may run aroundand play. Certainly we are protecting him!"

(13) He said:"As for me, it does make me sad for

you-all to take him with you. And I am afraidthat the wolf may eat him up while you-all areheedless in regard to him!"

[14) They said:"lEthe wolf were to eat him up. while

we're such a tightknit-bunch, then we would bethe ones suffering loss!"

James Morris

"So SABR11 is beautiful. And it is God (alone)Whose Help must be sought against whatyou-all desaibe'"

And a caravan came alone. So they sent their water­man, and he let down his vessel. He said:

"0 wbatOOCDNEWSI This is. young manl"22And they kept him hiddM. '" IDding-goods.

But God is ALL-KNowINo of wha they In doing.

(20) And they sold him for a cheap price. a numba' ofdirbams - for Ibcy were among ma.:e tonsideringhim oflitllc value. .

And the one from Egypt who bought him said to hiswife:

"Honor his dwdlingplal:e. Perl>aps he maybe useful to us and we may adopc him u a son."

And that is bow We established a place forJoseph upoo the eanb.1Dd '" thal Wemight cause him to I:HOW through RNOO«J­nIE..INN£l-MlWGNO of whaf:-comes-to-be.

(FnIme N""""'/or still -We"?)And God is prevailing in his atfajr - but most: of thepeople do .at knowl

And then wheo he reacbcd Iiis~gthWe brought him WJsI-J~ and(divine) Kl«lwJNo: That is how We rew.-dthe MUHSlNllN.14

''breath.. or "spirit"). In this translation we have noted some of the more problematic occurrenoes, where themeaning could be understood in rather different ways: this passage and vene 53 below became the locuscl&uicus for later Islamic references to the psydMHpiritual &!pCCX of the nat. as the ..carnal soW" manifestingthe reorehensibte qualities of the human-animal (bashar, rather than iada).

ZlSabr, which is exemplifltld in the Quran (and thus in lslamieate cultwe) at least as much by thefigure of Jacob as by lob, refers here to the Inner spiritual swe of someone who faithfully perseveres inallegiance and devotion 10 the divine Truth bccalLW they are aware of the real nature and ultimate aim ortrue context of their present difficult circumstances. 'The degree to which the Sura of loseph is at leastequally a drama about Jacob - as emphasized In many laler versions of this tale in the Wamic humanities­only becomes clear after repeated reading and meditation, as the fun reality and implications of lacob's SABabecomes apparent Such reflection will also highlight the distance between this remarkably all-enoompassinlspiriwal (or prophetic) vi.rtue and what is typically suggeslC:d by such English equivalents as "patience.."

22lbe term ghullm would ordinarily refer simply to a "boy" or "young man" (as the water-drawerclearly understands it here), In the Qtran, however, it almost always refers (9 of II times) to the veryspecial spiritual Slate of a young future prophet., visible only to those family members, like lacob here, whoare specially inspired by God (Abraham, Mary, Zachariah). The near-synonym f.tt is used much more fre­quently here to refer to a young male servant or slave.

730ivinely inspired "Wisdom" (HIKMA) or the inspired Right-Judgement and spiritual Authority(Hukill) concerning particular circ:umSlanCes that flows from such inspired Knowing.-e mentioned as humanspiritual virtues almost a hundred times in the Qtr8R (along with almost a hundred references to God u meultimate Hakim). The same Arabic root (h-k-m) also often refen 10 a number of related notions cooccmin,power, mastery, fannness, and authority or rulership which ordirwily belong to nther different semanticfidds in English. We have therefore tried 10 si,na1 each appearance d this particularly untranslatable root inthe course of the nnslation.

24lbsla, perhaps the most untranslalabae of alJ the spiritual virtues mentioned in the Qur.., appearsalmost 200 time. and clearly refer to one of the hiahest spiri~ StaleS, typifyin, the ,reatest prophets.LiunlJy "doinc/makiac-whal-iJ..aoocl-aacl-bea.liful," its Qur"anic usaae stresses the even deeper inspiledawareness necessary to bow what is truly good-and-beautiful in any partie_ silUation. In a vt:rj famousc:aoonica1 hadith, in which it appears as the summa of the spiritual virtues comprising True Religion (al.m.), the Prophet defines ihs" for the angel Gabriel 15 "wors.hippinglserving God IS though you see Him;

2lI8

-"

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

And the (woman) in whose house he was tried 10 enticehim away from himself. She locked the doorsand said:

"Come here!"He said:

"May God protect (me)! He is my RAss, whohas made good·and·beautiful my dwellingptace.He does not cause the wrongdoer to trUly.Oourishl"

Now she was longing for him, and he W8$ longing forher. were it not that he saw the Proof of his RASB.

That is how (it was), so that We might keepaway from him evil and indecency. Heis indeed among OUR WHOlLY-DEVOTEDSERVAN'B.2S

(25) So they each tried 10 reach the door j>rst and sheripped his shirt in back, and at the door they mether master. She said:

''What is the recompense for someone whointended evil for your family, if not that he beimprisoned or (receive) painful tormentI1"26

He (Josep,h) said:, , 'She tried 10 entice me away from myselfl"

And a witness from her people testified:"If his shirt is ripped in front. tben she spoke

truthfully and he is among the liars, but jf hisshirt if ripped in back, then she has lied and he isamong TIlOSE SJ'EAKtNQ-TRUI'HFllLLY."

So when he [her husbandJ saw his shirt was ripped inback, he said:

"This is from your (fem. plural) scheming,for your scheming is indeed ttemendous!"

"0 Joseph, turn away from this'"(10 his wife:] "And you. seek forgiveness for

your offense: surely you were among the erringones!'.z7

and even if you didn't see Him, He sees you" - or, in an equally possible translation: .t••• and if you arenot, then you do see Him."

2Slbe vinue of ikhJiis refers 10 absolute inner purity of intention, doing whatever one does entirely forGod's sake, in a state of pure inner "surrender" (isIAm/tasnm) and complete satisfaction (ridi) with thedivine Will. In the Qur)an it is often connected specifically with the spiritual state of the prophets andsaints, while the phrase "(God's!Our) wholly-devoted servants" is specifically applied to those speciallyprivileged souls whose unique inner purity saves them from suffering the (divinely authorized) tests anddelusions of IbtislSatan (15:40 and 38:83).

26nte concluding Arabic phrase here (Cadhib allm) is used some seventy times in the (Juran to referto the sufferings or punishments of Gehenna and the "Fire"; the particular Arabic root referring to "prison"here (5+0) is also used to refer to a fearful level of Gehenna in several key eschatological passages. ThusZuJaykha's "threat" here bas direct and poweduJ eschatological resonances that openly set the stage for a moresymbolic, metaphysical "reading" of this drama and Joseph's predicament already at this early stage of hisstory.

27n.e husband here uses one of the milder terms for ''sin'' or uansgression in the Qur)an; the root kh·t·) refers primarily to an (unintentional or one-time) "mistake" or "error," not to more deeply rooted andperversely evil acts of will. The husband's remarkably calm (and dramatically somewhat incongruous)emphasis on forgiveness here underlines both the truly divine nature and source of that virtue and the waysin which each of the "ruling" figures in the Sura - Jacob, the husband here, the King, and finally Joseph -

2Il9

James Morris

[30] And some women in the city said:''The wife of tile DEARlMIGHrY-QNE28 is tlying

to entice her young servant away from himself.He's made her faU madly in love. Indeed we seeshe's clearly gone astray'"

So when she heard about those women's sly-devising29

she sent to them and prepared for them a cushion,and she brought a knife to every one of them and_ (to Joseph):

"Come OUt before them '"

And when the women saw him they glorifJed him andthey aU cut their hands (in astonishment), andthey said:

''Ood preserve (us)! This is no ordinary­mortaI30 - this can only be a majestic angell"

She said:"So there for you-all is the one because of

whom you were reproaching me! I did try toentice him away from himself, only he resisted."

[to herselt?] "But if he doesn't do what I orderhim to, he will most certainly beimprisoned, and then he will surely beamong the lowly ones!"

So his RABB did respond to him and turned theirscheming away from him. Surely He is theALWAYS-l.Is1ENING, the Au.-KNowtNo.

[35] Next,31 it appeared (right) to them (mase. pl.),after they had seen the SlGNS, to imprison himuntil a cenain time.

And two young servants entered the prison with him.One of the two said:

"I am seeing myself squeezing out wine."

appears above all as a more or less open and expressly "super~human" embodiment of mat particularly divineAttribute (see n. 7 above on rahma).

28al.c Adz: this is one of the more common of the divine Names in the Quran, appearing more than ahundred times. so that no reader/listener familiar with the Qur)an could possibly miss the metaphysicalresonances of that tide here. (Note the very similar case of ai-Malik, ''The King," below.) Even morepointedly, Joseph turns out to have this same semi-regal tide when he is later addressed by his brothers.

29the Qur)an has some thiny striking references 10 the contrasl between the "scheming" (makar: cf.the related concept of kayd at n. 12 above) characteristic of so much human (and Satanic) activity and theparadoxically providential spiritual results of that deluded activity from the wider divine perspective of the"Best of Schemers" (khayr al-mikir1n, at 3:54 and 8:30) - a contrast that is of course one of the centraldramatic themes of this particular Sura.

30Bashar (in the standard Qur)anic contrast with indn explained in n. 12 above): as so often in thisSura. the actors here ironically speak the truth for totally wrong reasons, without being aware of those divineor prophetic qualities (beyond his incomparable physical beauty) whach make Ioseph's being U'Uly "angelic,"

It must be stressed that aU the actors in this Sura (i.e., Egyptians and Iacob's family alike) are portrayedas sharing the same religious vocabulary, differing only in their relative awareness of the realities to whichthose familiar words acwally refer.

31Thumma: a distinctive conjunction clearly maJldng a substantial break in the story. The Qur)anicaccount itself offers no explanation here of these "Signs" or of this mysterious (masculine) "they" and theaetuaI motives for Joseph's imprisonment, beyond the subsequent revelation (at verse 52) of the apparent roleof ZuIaykha and her friends in it The vagueness of this situation and the description here only heighten andaccentuate the impression of apparently arbitrary or unjust and undeserved suffering that is clearly intended toevoke analogous experiences and impressions within each reader'S/listenef's own life.

200

,

•.

James Morris

{30] And some women in the city said:'"Tbe wife of the 0EAJtJM1GITY.()tI.,"E28 is uying

to entice her young servant away from himself.He's made her fall madly in love. Indeed we seeshe's dearly gone astrayl"

So when she heard about those women's sly«vising29she sent to them md pn:pared for them a cushion,and she brought a knife to evtty one of them andsaN! (10 Joseph):

"'Come out before them'"

And when the women saw him they glorifd him andthey all cut their hands: (in aslOflishment), anddley said:

"God preserve (us)! This is no onlinary­mortal30 - this can only be a majestic angel!"

She said:""So~ for you-all is the one because rL

whom you were reproaching me! I did tty 10entice him away from himself, only he resisted."

(to herself7] "But if he doesn't do what I orderhim to, he will most eenainly beimprisoned, and then he wi!! surely beamong the 'owly ones!"

So his RAse did respond to him and turned theirscheming away from him. Surely He is theAJ.WAYS·~. the Au..-KNowtNo.

[35] Nexl.,Jl it appeared (right) to them (rnase. pl.),atter they had seen the SIGNS, to imprison himuntil a cenain time.

And two young servanlS entered the prison with him.One of the two said:

"I am seeing myself squeezing OUt wine."

appears above all as a more or less open and expressly "super-human" embodiment of that particularly divineAttribute (see n. 7 above on rahma).

28.1_( Adz: this is one of the more common of the divine Names in the Quran, appearing more than ahundred times, $0 that no reader/listener familiar with the Quran could possibly miss the metaphysicalresonances of that title here. (NOte the very similar case of al.Malik, '''The King," below.) Even morepointedly, Joseph turns out to have this same semi-regal title when he is later addressed by his brocbers.

29the Quran has some lhiny striking references to the contrast between the "scheming" (makat: cf.the related concept of kayd at n. 12 above) characteristic of so much human (and Satanic) activity and theparadoxically providential spiritual results of that deluded activity from the wider djvine perspective of the"Best of Schemers" (khayr -.I·mlkit1n, at 3:54 and 8:30) - a contrast that is of course one of the centraldramatic themes of this particular Sma

30Bashar (in the swKIard Quranic contrast with indn explained in n. 12 above): as so often in thisSura, the acton here ironically speak the D'Udt for totally wrong reasons, without being aware of those divineor prophetic qualities (beyond his incomparable physical beauty) wlUch make Joseph's being lJUJy "angelic."

It must be stressed that au the actors in this Sura (Le., Egyptians and Jacob's family alike) are ponrayedas sharing the same rtlipo.as vocabulary, differing ooly in their relative awareness of the m\lities to whichthose familiar words actually refer.

31Thumma: a distinctive conjunction clearly marking a substantial break in the story. lbe Quranicaccount itself offers no explanation here of these "Signs" or o( this mysterious (masculine) ..they" and theactual motives for J~'s imprisonment., beyond the subsequent revelation (at verse 52) of the apparent roleo( Zulaykha and her friends in it The vagueness of this situation and the description here only heighten andacoentuare the impression of apparently arbitrary or unjust and undeserved suffering that is clearly inrended toevoke analogous experienc:es and impressions within each reader's/1.isIener's own life.

210

..

Dramatiz,ing the Sura of Joseph

And the other one said:"I am seeing myself carrying above my head a

}oaf ofbrcad from which the birds are eating."

[Both of them:]"Inform us both about the ENI'I'EJ..WP.ANtNO

(laJ"'-I)ofiL Fa we t« you among theY..lHSII'o'UW."

He said:1beJe dcJe$ not a:me to you twO any nourish­

ment that is beslowed as your s1JSTtNANc!,32 butthat 1have already Iold both of you the lNNEa·W!ANINO of it, before it comes to you both. That,fa you both, is among what my a.ua has causedme to KNow. I have indeed forsaken the MJl.1.A33of a &!!'UP who do not have FAITH in God and whore~TIIE-<>ntEl-WORlD'"

"And 1have followed the MIU.A of my fatbers,Abraham and Isaac and Jacob: it was not for us toassociate oJ thina with God. That was throughGod's!ava fa us and fa (aU) the people- andyet most of the people 1ft not &ivinl~J"

"0 two companions [or 'masten'Jof thePrison.3S Ale disparalc-sepa-ate lords [pL ofRABB) beurr - or God 1\E-Q.m, nre­~I'

n ..SustefW)Ce" here can only suggest a few dimensions of the recurrent Quranic tenn rizq (and. relacedforms), which almost always refers to the universal divine activities of creating and bestowing all the formsof God's "Grace" and "Bounty," including much more than food and extending uItimalC:ly to the veryexisrence of all crealW"eS and forms of m~ifestation. lbe unusually complicated Arabic syntax throughoutthis entire episode with the "two prisoners" SU'Of'Igly emphasizes the metaphysical and theological dimensionsof this situation - almost to the point of an explicit allegory for the "dualism" and inha"cotly prison·llkesuffering insepInble from all hwnan existence so long as our perceptions of being are limited 10 ..this world"(duny.) of maaer, space and time, without any deep awareness of the "other," spiriw.al world (al-Ikhira).lltis likely reading of the passage is even more sirongly emphasized by the otherwise vinuaJly ioexplicable"switch" to the theological arguments at the end of this verse and throughout the following verses, whichwould otherwise have linle obvious connection either to the two prisoners' visions or to their respectivef.....

33This myslC:rious Qur)anic expression - which later became perhaps the most common Islamicexpression for differcnt"reJigions" in the exoteric sociological and hisrorical sense - is usually used in theQurJan specifically in connoc:tion with the particular monotheistic religious "way" or path of Abrah.m (orhis descendants), sometimes, as here, in conuast with opposing religious perspectives or ways of life.:wor "cover over" or "are ungrateful for"': the key Quranac root It-r-r appears very frequently as theactive contrarY both of the central spiritual vinucs of faim and mindfulness and of gratitude or thankfulnessto God, spiritual Slates which - as this verse and the entire passage suongly emphasize - are sincerelyinconceivable from the limited standpoint of the "'prison" of ..this world" (.I·dufty.), without the innerawareness of its Source and continuation in the ..other world" (.I-Akhira) that Joseph gradually discoversthrough his imprisonrnenL

3j:Given the constAnt stress on duality (and contrasting insistence on divine Unity) throughoutJoseph's strange speech here, the metaphysical and eschatological dimensions of this passage are furtherheightened by the fact that the particular Arabic ICmI for "'pri.!on" used here (al-sijn. one of several possibleArabic expressions) SD'ODgly evokes '"1'be Prison" (a1..siiJin) described elsewhere in the (Juran lIS one of thelowest "levels" of GeheMa.

Those considerations suggest that aliten.l translation of Joseph's stran~e epilhet for his companions­i.e., as the "twO mutus" of the pllJOO, those who "control" or possess It:; or as its "'two owners" andrightful inhabitants - may more adequately descn"bc the Slate of all those who are inherently confined to thisworld by their dUl:Iistic (material and time-bound) perception of things.

211

James Mc.ms

[4OJ [We? NllmIIOr? Muhammad?:] 36"What you-alilre worshipping/serving besidesHim Ire nothing but names that you-aD hivenamed., you and yOW' fathersl God has not sentdown for tbem any authority. Certainly theDEOSIV£..~7 is oal, for Godl Hecomm_ !bat you-aIJ IlOl worship/sene anybut Him aIoDe: That is Tla!. UPaJOKr 1lE1JOl<ItII3S- and yet most of tbe people do not Jcnow,"

""() two compmions of the Prison: As for oneof you. be is pouring wine for bis lord39 10 drink.And. for the 0Iber one, be is crucified, SO thatme birds we eaDna from his head. The maaer has(1Iready) boon _ whK:h you are --'1 10have me explain."

And he said to the one of me two whom he suspectedwas being saved.-40

"Mention/remember me in the presence of)"OUl'"Ionl (nollb)l"

Then lbe Shaydn made him foci" ....tioning/remembering his RAB8, 41 so be lingered in~ several ye3'S.

And 'mE KlNo42 said:Surely I am seeing seven fat COWS lhat seven

3610 this verse the "addressees" are in the indefmite plual rather than the expliciUy dual loon usedrepea&ed.ly in the prec:edina verses, so·that it is not at all clear who is speakina to whom, or in what siwationlP1 time.fnune.

37a1..H.km: see n. 27 above (where this quality is divinely bc:sIowed on Joreph) concerning the mani­fold meaniD,s of this Arabic rOOl Here the sense of (ontological) rulerlhip and .overnin. authority~naIcs(IS with the closely related Arabic term sultAR in the pm:edin. sencence).

3SaJ-4ID aJ..,ylm: this expression (also occUlTin. at 9:36, 30:30 and 30:43) is part of • complex ofrdaIed Quranic: phrases powerfully affumin. the unchangin. unity of all realized "Reliaion" (al.eftn) IS theproper relation between God and the human soul, the spiritual state of uue "worship-and-divine-service"ribldli) exemplified by the prophets and saints.

39por those (includin. virtually all later Muslim interpreters) approachin. this pa!S8ge from within thepenpcctive of the Qur)an itself, the image of ''pouring wine" would naturally and very powetfully evoke theachatologlcal symbolism of the "banquets" (fountains, cupbeaIm:, ece.) in the Garden (or Paradise) and theclosely related symbolism of the divine "Coon" ("Throne," "digniwies," etc.) which is continued in theimmedialely following verses here. Similarly the complex symbolism of the "birds" mentioned in theQuran is often related (at least by 18leI' readtn and commentators) specifically to the spiritual states of soulsor other spiritual beings-

400rhe Arabic term here is used repeaJedly (and almost exclusively) throughout the Quran to refer toGod', "saving" the prophets, ri.hlCOus, etc. in an "plicitly spiritual or eschatOIO}ical sense. Ukewise.Joseph's panin. words here clearly evoke the imagery of the l.tercesslon (shafl a) of the prophets andMessengen in the divine "Coun" - usually within eschalOlogical settings - alluded to in the Quran anddesat"bed. in peater detail in many well-known hadidl.

41This lirenl translation strongly suuests - within the Qur)a.lc context, where "remembrance" ormindfulness of God (dhikr Allah) is mentioned almost three hundred times IS a fundamental spirirual vinue- that it was JOMph who forgot to "remember" his Lord and thenf'on: remained in the "Prison" of duality.Oo1y by stretching the Arabic (and following the Biblical and legendary accounts, as is often the cue in thelaIer cornmenwy literature) can one read this passage as somehow referring exclusively to the fonnerprisoner.

421n order to Jf1.Sp the deeper meanings of the.", it is absolutdr essential to keep in mind thatthroughout the Quran ai-Malik, '"The Kina" or "Possessor" of all aeabon,lS one oflhe most frequent of thediviae: Names. (Cf. the simiw cue of the D£At/MKiRTT.oNE, al_cAzlz. as the epithet of Joseph's earlierowner and Joseph's own title after bis elevation by the Kin,.) Of coune no mention is made at all here of

2U

..

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

thin ones are eating, and se--'en a.rcen ears (ofgrain). and other dry ones. 0 you dignitaries...3explain to me about my vision. if you are (capabkof) incerpreting44 the vision'"

They said:"Mi1ed.-up dreams'''' And we are not, with

regard to RNDING-lHE-INNER·MEANIHO o(dreams.lIlloog _ who know,"

[4S] And be said, the one of the two who-was savedand (only now) remembered after some time:

"I fmtend to) inform you of its 1NNEIl~.so send me out...

[Then .,the Prison he said:)"Joseph. 0 youTlU1HRA.Ly~ (al­

siddlq): Explain to us rqarding seven fa toWSIhat seven dUD ones are eating, and seven peenears and ocher <ky ODC':S. so that 1might return tothe people. so thal perhaps they might know'"

He said:"You-aIl plant (or seven years, tirelessly. SIX

fI what you-all have harveslCd. leave it on the earexcept (c.- a very little, from which you eat...

~ there come after that. seven hard oneseating up whal you-all have prepared (or them.except (or a very link: from what you-all arepoaving.•

1hen there ccmes after that a year in wh'cllthe people are abundantly helped out.46 and in itthey are pressing (much oil)."

[SOl And the KINo SlUe!:"Bring him 10 me'"

Then when the messenger47 came to him. he said:"Return to your lord (rabb) and ask: him:

"Pharaoh" (nrca1m). the usual (and uniformly pejorative) title (or the paramount Egyptian ruler in the test ofthe IUlries of die Qur'1Ul.

43a l_mala ': the term describinC the assembled officials or nobles of a Court, which is also frequentlyused in the Quran (and hadith) to refer to the highest angels or archangels around the divine wnuone."

44The King uses an entirely different and more common eJ.pression (ClbAra) than the strange andmetaphysically evocative term ta~"il r'1NNEJt MEANING") consistently used by Jacob. Joseph and the two~ (see n. 16 above), although he does at least refer co his experience as a ''vision'' (ru'ya) rather than a'dream" (see (oDowmC noce). The root of cibln refers to the "aossing over'" from a particular signifteantfonn or experience to the meaning or lesson it contains. and is therefore used more broadly for any son of

"in~"the only reference to "dreams" in the entire Sura. all the other charxters at least heinl awarethat they are dea1in, with spiritual "vision" (rg')'.) in a far more profound sense. The contraSt heredramatically hiahlights the constant theme of Reality and i.IIusion - and of the rare Sfiritual "insight"(brastra: notes 69 and 81 below) and inspired wisdom needed to"see through" the "veils" 0 those immediate~ - wbich provides the most basic thc:malic unity of this entire Sura.

460rbe Arabic root here refers literally to abundant rains. but is consistently used elsewhere in the(Juran 10 refer more broedIy to God's "Gmce" - especially as it appears in response to human prayers andentteaties - in aU of its (onns. (Ct. the re1aled notioa of diviDe "susu::nance," rizq, at. n. 32 above..)

47.I_rul1l: This is exactly the same 1enn used hundreds of times in the ~an to refer to the"Messengers" of the divine King. the prophets and angels (Ind often to refer speciftcally CO Muhmmad).

213

James Manis

'What was the problem with those women whocut their hands?'''

(To himseJfI:)"Certainlr my Lord/'An is Weu...-KHowtNoabout thel1 schemesl"

He (the King) said (Ol those womeo):"Whar. was=on with you~all when you

Died~ entice J away from himself?'"

They said:"God forbid - We didn't know any wrong of

him,"

The wife fA the 0r.AJJMDrry<HI said.:'"Now the Truth41 has become clear: I did try

10 entice him away from himself, twwI surely he isamong theTltmFuu.Y~."

[Joseph - a_"y Ol himself:)-rbat is so that he49 might know that I didnot beuay him regarding the UNSEEN, andthat God does not guide the scheming ofthose who betray."

"And I am not absolving my NAI'S:50 Surely theNAI'S is oommanding (us) to do wrong.except 10 the extent that my ....118 hasMncY. Indeed m,1lA88 is MOST~foRGMNo, MOST-LoVlNO-AA"O-MfJtaRJL1"

ADd the ""'" said:"Bring him to Me. so that I may have him

WHOU.YDEVOTED to Mysem"

Then once He had spc*.en with him, He said:"Today you ae in Our presence, well settled

and welllruStedl..S1

48aJ.Haqq: We have capitalized the ttanslation here because the identical expre$Ston is also one of thehighest or most comprehensive divine Names \The Truly Real") throughout the Qui'an, and later Musliminterpreters sometimes took Zulaykha's exclamation here to refer to much more than the mere publicdisclosure of her ueachery - i.e., as the sign of a dramatic spiritual process of maturation and growth,culminating in bet recognition of the trUe reality of Joseph's nature and of her own love, comparable to thesuffering and inner transformation later undergone by Joseph's brothers.

49The reference here is rather unclear and may be to ZUlayJcha's husband. the King. or perhaps even toGod (there are problems with all three inte:l:JR1ations). In favor of the latter possibility is the fact that in the(Juran the recurrent expression for "'the unseen (spiritual) world" (al-chayb) has to do with realities farbroader (and quite different from) mere worldly "secrecy" and discretion. One of the central spiritual virtuesin the ~an - most strikingly manifested by the figure of Jacob in this Sura - is that of being a "Guardianof the UNSEEN" (Hafiz al~ghayb): i.e., respectfUlly and approprialely responding to one's awareness of thespiritual world and the hidden reality of things _ each moment, always observing the right behavior (adab)in one's relations with God and with each creature in a way that is appropriate to that soul's particularspiritual needs and capacity. while retaining the divine quality of "concealing" (at·SattAr) most of hisspiritual knowledge.

SOOr "self," "soul," ele.: see the discussion of this highly prob&ematic Ienn in the note 10 n. 20 above.'inc diction of this entire verse (12:54), especially II the end, is powerfully reminiscent of the many

Quranic scenes depictin$ the fate of the blessed standing before the divine "King" at the "Last Day." Thiseschatok>gical resonance 15 so strong and so litenJ that it could not possibly escape any reader in the Arabic.Moreover, both the epithets bestowed on Joseph here (aml., maid.) frequently appear elsewhere in theQur'an applied 10 Muhammad as divine Messenger (especially in Sura 26).

214

.'

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

[55] He (Joseph) said:"Place me over the TREASURIES OF11D! EARTH.

Indeed [ am WElL-PROTECI1NO, WElL_KNOWINO!,tS2

And that is how We established Joseph on the earth,settling down upon it wherever he wishes. Webestow Our LoVINGMERCY on whomevez We wish.And We do not neglect the reward of theMUHSINUN!53

lFrame Narrator?/or still "We''?]:And surely the reward of11D!OTHER-WORlD isbest, for those who had FAITH and were MINDfUL

(ofGOO)IS4

And Joseph', _ carne, Then they entered beforehim and he knew them, while they wereDENYINo55 him.

And when he had provided them with their supplies hesaid:

"Bring me from your father a (certain) brotherof yours. Don't you·aIl see that I fiU up themeasure and I am the best of those-who-givc.hospitality?!"

[60] "But if you don't bring him to me, then there isno measure for you with me - you may not comenearme!"S6

. They said:"We will try to entice57 his father from

52These last words (bafiz, calim) both appear frequently as divine Names throughout the Qur)an ­thereby signaling Joseph's "investiture" here with the full Prophetic attributes; they also characterize thebroader cosmological functions associated with the specific heavenly station of this prophet mentioned in thebadith of the Micrij. Likewise. the word "treasuries" (khazi)in) always refers elsewhere in the Qur)an toGod's Treasuries: e.g., at 6:50: 11:31; 15:21; 17:100; 38:9; 52:37; and 63:7 ("God's are the Treasuriesof the heavens and of the earth ...J.

531be middle of this V&Se (56) marks the exact midpoint of the Sura541be spiritual vinue of taqwi could perhaps be best uanslated as "active God-awareness": it is the

consciousness and awareness of God's Presence, an inner mindfulness of the divine at every instant, com­bined with an eager, attentive orientation to do and accomplish in actual practice what that spiritual aware­ness demands. The Qur'an repeatedly mentions this (more than two hundred times) as one of the veryhighest spiriwal stateS, most funy exemplified in the prophets and speciaJ "friends of God" (awliyi' AllAh).

SSihe underlying (and untranslatable) Arabic roots used here convey much more strongly the intendedbroader reference to spiritual ''blindness'' and the contrasting recognition of theophany (the divine "Signs'').The term translated here as "denying" (munkir) actually refers to the state of someone's (inwardly oroutwardly) pretending not to know or recognize something that they really do know: cf. the closely relatedkey Qur'anic concept of k-f-r, to "cover up" or ungratefully refuse the ultimate Reality of the sow's relationto God (see note to verse 31 above). Confirming the same metaphrsical point, "knew" here translates theroot c_r_f, referring specifically to the familiar experience of our • recognition" of a person we actuallyalready know.

S6Here. in the larger Qur)anic context, the Arabic expression evokes much more strongly than anypossible English translation the many Qur'anic references to the central notion of each soul's relative"proximity" (qurba) to God. which is often discussed in terms of imagery (such as the divine "Throne:'courtiers, etc.) drawn from coun protocol and etiquette.

S7The brothers here used precisely the same (pejorative) term that was earlier used to describe the"scheming" of Zulaykha and her friends to get Joseph to go against his own better inclinations. The irony inthe brothers' response is that they are of course already deeply implicated in the process of repeating withBenjamin what they had earlier done with Joseph.

215

,

,James Morris

(holding on to) him: Certainly we are doing(ohat)!"

And be said to his young servants:"Put their ttading-goods back in their

saddlepacks. so that they may recognize themwhen they have gone back to their family - thatperhaps they may return."

So when they returned to their father they said:"0 our father,58 the measure (of grain

requested) was forbidden to us. So send ourbrother with us that we rna)' be given the measure.Surely we are protecting hun'"

He said:"Can I have faith in you regarding him - except asI had faith in you regarding his brother beforel?"

[To himselfl:]"For God is BEST-IN·PROTEC11NO. and He is

the MOST LoVING OFTIfOSB SHOWnKi LoYINOMERCY(arham al-rAhimin)'"

[6S] But when they opened their possessions theyfound their trading-goods returned to them. Theysaid:

"0 our father. what (more) do we desire?These are our own trading-goods returned to us!And we will provide for our family and protectour brother and increase (our provisions) by themeasure of a camel-load. That is an easymeasure!"

He said:". will never send him with you-all until you

give me a pledge from God that you will mostsurely bring him back to me. unless you aresurrounded!"

So when they had given him their pledge be said:"GOD is TRUSTEE (""akil) for what we are

saying'"

And he said:"0 my sons, don't go in through a single gate,

but enter through separate gates! And I canOOl:help you. in place of God. with regard to anything. The DECtStVE-JUOOMENr (al·hukm) is onlyfor God: in Him have I IrUSted, and on Himshould rely aU-those-who-trust (at·mutawakkihin)!'>S9

S8Here. as throughout the rest of the Sura, abe brothers continue to use the same formal and "objective"form of addressing their father, as opposed to the intimate and personal, diminutive form always used in meexchanges between Joseph and Jacob (verses 4·5 and 100). Exactly the same contrast is mirrored in the waysJoseph and Jacob (as opposed to the other characters) address God and especially their personal RABB (see nns.11 and 14 above). Ironically, the brothers' words at the end of this verse literally reproduce their earlierassurances to Jacob regarding Joseph in verse 12. .

S9yawakkul, repeatedly encouraged in the Qui'an, is the spiritual station of tQtaI trust and confidencein God, the inner attitude of sincerely "handing things over" totally to Him, as a departing traveling or pil­grim would enttust their family and affairs to a trusted servant or steward (wak1I).

216

•

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph ,And when they entered in the way their father had

commanded them, that was not of any help tothem, in place of God, with regard to any thing ­except as a need in Jacob's NAPS which he satis­fied.

And surely he is a possessor of (divine) KNowtNOthrough what We have made him KNOW - and yetmost of the people do Dot know!

And when !hey entered before1~, he-.hisbrother his (special) guest.60 He said:

"Indeed I myself am your own brother! So donot be upset about what they have been doing."

(70] Then when he had provided them with theirsupplies, he put the drinkingcup in his brother'ssaddlebag.

Next a herald called out:''0 you of the caravan, indeed you-all are

surely thieves!"

They said. as they came (back) close to them:..What is it you are missing!?"

They said:"We are missing the King's chalice'"

"For whoever brings it there is acamel's load(in reward), and I am re8pOnsible for it.. (addedJoseph].

They said:"By God, you-all surely know we didn't come

to do harm in the earth and we haven't beenthieves'"

They said:"Then what are the amends for it. if you-all

have been lying?"

[75] They said:'11le amends for it are the person. in whose

saddlebag it is found -let him be the compensa­tion for it: that is how we repay the wrongdoers!"

So he began with their sacks before his brother's sack,and then he brought it out of his brother's sack.

That is how We conttived for Joseph: he would nothave l3ken his brother according to the religion61of the King, except that God wishes. We raise up

6On.e Arabic verb used here and at verse 99 (with the ordinary sense of giving lodging or refuge) alsohas strong eschatological overtones in the Qur'anic conte;tl, since its locative fonn (al.ma'wa) is repeatedlyused in vivid eschatological passages to refer to the "ultimate abode" of both the blessed and those subject to1mneIlt, whether in the "Gardens" or the "Fire."

61010 here could also mean "law," "custom," "judgement" and the like - keeping in mind what hasalready been said about the likely meaning of '"The King" at verse 43 above.

217

,James Morris

by degrees woomever We wish. and above everypossessor of knowledge is ONE AIL_KNOWING!62

'nley said:"If he is stealing, then a brother of his had

stolen before!"

But Joseph kept it secret within himself and did notreveal it to them. He said (to himself):

"You yourselves are in a far worse situation, and Godis MORE KNowING about what you describe!"

They said:''0 Dlt&.R/MIOHTY-ONE,.63 he has a father, an

extremely old man.64 so rake one of us instead. ofhim. Certainly we see you are among theMUllSlNtlNI"

He said:"God forbid thar: we should take anyone except

the person with whom we found our thingslOlherwise we would surely be wrongdoers'"

[SOJ So then when they had despaired of (persuading)him. they got away to talk in secret. The oldestof them said:

"Don't you-all know that your father lOOk apledge from you with God. and before how youwere so remiss with regard to Joseph?1 So] willnever leave (Ibis) earth until my father gives mepermission or God judges for me, for He is theBEs'rOFTHosE-wuD-IUOOE'"

"You-all return 10 your father and say:'0 our father. your son has certainly stolen.

And we have only given witness to what we havecome 10 know: we were not proteCting theUNsEEN!'"

"And ask the village where we were and thecaravan in which we came back: indeed we aresurely SPEAKlNG.TRt1TIIFULLy!'t65

He (Jacob) said:"No, on the contrary: your carnal souls (your

'NAI'S') have seduced you into some affair! So$ABK is beautiful.66 Perhaps God may bring them

62commentators disagree whether this famous last phrase refers only to God (as it is ttanslated here),or also - if one understands the last phrase as "someone more knowing" - to the exislence of much widerearthly and/or spiritual hierarchies of religious or other knowJedge. However. in the Qur'an itself thesefrequently mentioned "degrees" or "ranks" (darajat, appearing some founeen times) most often seem to referspecificaUy to spiritual qualities. functions or reward in the other world (e.g., "with their Lord:' at 8:4).

63al.(Aziz: Joseph is addressed here with the same title (and divine Name) as the Egyptian officialwho earlier bought him and raised him until his imprisonment

640r "a great shaykh": shaykh kabir.65-rhis passage is an excellent illustration of the sort of "cinematic" leaps through time and space that

are fairly typical ofQur'anic narrative; it is not at aU clear whether this verse is simply a continuation of thebrother's advice in the preceding verse or whether the scene has already shifted to the brothers' return to Jacoband their embarrassed explanatioM.

66Note that Jacob's answer up to this point is literally identical with his much earlier response to rhebrothers in verse 18, after they had left Joseph in the well.

218

,• ,

Dramatizing the Sura of Joseph

10 me all together. For He is THE Au.-KNowtNo,1l£Au.-WlSE....

And he wmed away from them and said:"0 my grief for Josephl"

And his eyes had _ white (bIUld) from SOIlOW,for he was restraining himself.

(SS) They saM!:"By God. you won',_,e.,..,!>eri"S Joocph

until you waste away, or join those who passawoyt"

He said (to himself'/):

"I ollly complain to God of my grief and my SCITOW.ADd 1 DlOW' from God what you-aU do ncx Icnow.'

"'0 my sons, 10 and tty to f"md out'i'

about Josephand his 1Jrothe£. And do ncx despair of 1lG! SPWT(FOoD! No one despairs ofnmSPmlToPOoD, butthe~ wbo n:je<l (God),"

So when they emered befen him they said:. '"0 DI!ARJMDrrY.oNE. we and our family havebeen beset by hardship, and we have broughtunwonhy goods! So fin up the measure for us,and be charitable68 with us: s..ely God rewardsdiose who an charitable'"

He said.:"Did you-all know what you did with Joseph

and his brother, when you were foolish-and­ignonn?"

(90) They saM!:"Is it really you who are Joseph?!"

He said:"I am Joseph, and this is my brother. God has

been generous with us."

(Namuor'1"w."?/Joseph to hUnse1f7)"For whoever is MJNDfUL (of God) and showss.ua. surely God does not neglect the rewardof the MUHSINUN."

They said:HBy God, God has preferred you over us,

though we were certainly erring ones...

He saM!:"'No blame for you todayl God forgives you-

61The verb here, from the root meaning '"to have sympathy, feel, sense," also conveys such meaningsas: to sense, feel deeply, experience. perceive. etc. A more Iiceral translation, which also suUests muchDOe the spiritual depth of what Jacob is W'Jing on the brothers. might be: "try 10 '«I 'or yourselves .•.•"

681bc:re is an important and untranslalable ironic play on words here: we have nmlaled lireraUy - asthe brotbers s\ftly intend it - the everyday meani"l of the fifth derived verbal form 0( the key Arabic roots.d.q (discussed in D. 19 above). However. that same verbal form also carries the deeper meaning of....eciprocallyor lateainly practicing «canying out the spiritual vinue of truthfll.lly speaking and acting(sidq)" - and the twochers are of coune still entirely unaware of bow profoundly and sincerely Joseph isactually carrying out wtw for them is simply a szandard pious formula used by beggarsl

219

James Morris

and He is the MOST LoVlNG OfTIfOSE SHOWINGLoVlNGMERCY."

''Go all of you, with this shirt of mine, then place iton my father's face, that he may come SEElNG.69

And come to me with your family, all together'"

And when the caravan started out, their father said:"Surely I do feel the smell70 of Joseph - even

if you think I'm losing my mind!"

[95) They said:"By God, certainly you are in your old error!"

Then when the bearer of good news arrived. he placed it[the shirt) OIl his face, so that he was returned toBEING-8EEINo.

He said:"Didn't I tell you that I KNOW from God what

you-aU do not know?"

They said:"0 oW" famer. ask for our sins to be forgiven

for us - indeed we were erring ones!"

He said:-"I will ask my RAS8 to forgive you. Certainly

He is THE MosT-foRGIVING, THE MOsT·MERCIFUL,..71

Then when they entered before Joseph, he received bodt. his parenrs72 as his (special) guests, and he said:

"Enter Egypt, ifGod wishes, in security'" 73

[100) And he raised up both his parents upon theThrone, and they (the brothers) feU down bowingbefore him.74 And he said:

"0 my dear father, this is the INNER·MEANlNGofmy vision from beforel My RADD did make itreal-and-true. And He was good to me when HepuUed me out of the Prison and He brought you­all in from the desert, after the Shayran hadincited conflict between me and my brothels.

69Basir: in the Quran this term (also an important and repeated divine Name) and related fonns areclearly used more than a hundred times to refer specifically to spiritual "vision," insight and discernment,often explicitly described as a divinely given grace or inspiration. The "restoration" of Jacob's (physical?)vision here of course recalls the constantly dramatized contrast throughout this Sura between real divine"vision," ru'ya, and empty or illusory dreams, ahltm.

7OR.ih: a term closely related in meaning and irs verbal root to the divine "Spirit" or "Breath" (RuhAllAh) of verse 87 and many other key Qur~anic passages.

11Literally echoing Joseph's exact words at the similarly climactic moment of verse 53.72The dual form here and in the following verse is not further explained: presumably many Qur~anic

auditors (with no knowledge of the Biblical details of Rachel's death, the names and mothers of Joseph'sbrothers, etc.) assumed a reference to Joseph's biological parents. However, within the Sura itself it isimportant to note that the very same dual form appears only one other time, at the very beginning (verse 6),in reference to Abraham and Isaac.

73ar "with FAITH": see n. 8 above.74This last phrase (aPelied here to the brothers, not to the "twO parents'') is used repeatedly in the

Qur'an specificaUy to descnbe the actions or inner state of those who directly witness and recognize the­ophanies (manifestations of God), whether in the case of Moses at Sinai (7: 143) or of those who truly hearverses of the Qur'an (17:107; 19:58; 25:73; 32:15).

,

•

Dramatizing the Sura ofJoseph

Surely my RAn is MosT-GRAClOUS Oatil) towhatever He wills! Indeed He 15 THE Au..·KNowING. THEAlL-WISE!,,75

"0 my RABB. You have brought to me some (worldly)dominion and You have caused me to KNOWthrough FJNDING.1lD!·INNER-MEANINO of what·oomes-rcrbe!

''0 CREATOR76 of the heavens and the earth! You aremy PaOTECTINo-FIttEND (wali in 1his world and theother-world. Come to receive me surrendered (10You).77 and include me wi1h TIlOSE WHO·DO-WHAT·IS·RlGHTl"

Thill was from the disc1oSlD'es of Ibe UNSEENWe inspire in yoo.78 You were notpresenl wilb them when 1:hey agreedIOgether aboul t:heir affair,79 while theywere slyly devising.

And mOSI of Ibe people, even though yougreatly desire (il). do not have FAITH.

Nor do you ask of t:hem any reward for iL Itis only a REMINDER (dhikr) 10 Iheworlds!

[105] And how many a SIGN lhere is in Ibeheavens and the earth which lIley pass onby. turning away!

And most of Ibem have no FAITH in God,except while they are associating (olherappearances wilh the One).

So do they feel safe80 from Iheir being over·whelmed by a dark shroud of punishmentfrom God. or from the HOUR suddenlyovercoming them while they are not evenaware?!

75Here in conclusion Joseph echoes literally, but now based.on his own personal experience. the similaraffirmations of the divine TeacherlNanator al verse 6 and of his own prophet-father al verse 83.

76Fitir (literally. "Splitter''), one of the more unusual Qui'anic terms (appearing in five other Suras) for''Crealor'' - perhaps focusing on the aspect of giving the creatures their ''primordial nalW'e" (lilra).

77porms of the verb tawatrA are usually used in the Qurlan to refer very specifically 10 the divine orangelic "reception" of each soul at the moment of death. The expression muslim and closely related terms(taslim/islAm) are most commonly used in the Qur~an - as in this passage - to refer 10 one of the highestspirilual staleS or vinues most fully exemplified in the prophets: "The peace thai passeth understandin((salAm) and the inner union of the divine and human will that leads 10 thai peace, true spiritual "surrender.

78This and Ibe following verses would appear 10 be directed 10 Muhammad. shifting back from Joseph.Of course in all sucb Qur~anic cases the relation of Ibis often mysterious supra·leJl1poral "you" 10 eachlistener/reader is something that remains 10 be discovered..

7'The language here is identical wilh the description of Joseph's brothers' plotting or scheming at verse15 above.

lJOplaying with the same Arabic rool as the word for "faith" (lman: D. 18 above).

221

James Morris

Say: ''This is my Path: I am calling/prayingto God with CLEAR INsIGHT,SI myself andwhoever has followed me. And Praise beto God! 1am not among those-who­associate (others with the One)."

And We did not send (any as Messenger)before you except for some men whomWe inspire among the people of thetowns.

Have they not traveled through theearth, that they might observe how theultimate end of those before them hasbeen?! Indeed the Abodeof~­world is best, for 11I0$E-WHO-ARB­

MINDFULI So then do you...aJ.I still notunders1llnd?1

[1101 Uno., when the Messengers despairedand supposed that they had been rejected,there came to them Our TRIUMPHANT­~2 and whoever We wish wassaved. Nor can Our Affliction be keptfrom those-wlKHJo-harm.

Surely in the tales about them there was a deep­lesson forTHOSB WHO HAVBHEARTS!83

It was not a made-up story. but aconfinnation ofwhat was (already) beforehim84 and a proper-distinguishing (tars1l)ofevery thing, and RlGKT.(jUIDA~ andLOVINGMEllCY to a people who have FAITH.

,

,,

,

8Inis Quranic expression (Cali bastra) usually applied to the special divine guidance of the prophetsand saints is closely relaled to the term for Jacob's restored "vision" or spiritual insight (bas1r: see relatedDOte at verse 96 above).

8210 the Qur)an, the term nasr (and related verbal forms) is typically used (especially where theprophets and their supporlel'S are concerned) to refer 10 all the forms of divine or spiritual suppan andassistance. In consequence, the meaning of "vicwry" or "triumph" also conveyed by the same Arabic rootmust often be understood in such contexts in a more strictly spiritual (and not necessarily outwardly visibleor historical) sense.

83The expression '1116 al-albAb occurs some sixteen times in the Qur->an, always in reference to thatspiritual elite who are actually ready to realize the spiritual virtues, who alone are IlUly capable of recognizingthe divine "Signs" and lhereby "remembering" and returning 10 God (13:19, 39:3, etc.).

84Again, especially given the extraordinary scope of the meaning and imponance attributed to these"stories," the person actually intended here (as well as Iheir relation to the narrator) is not at all clear: itmight be Joseph, or Muhammad (now considered from "oulSide"), or each readerllistener - although there areproblems with eacb of these possible identifications.

222

Dramatizing the Sura ofJoseph

Appendix: The Spiritual Categories Involved in The Divine "Lessons"

Spiritual Vinues Their Conttaries

the heedless-ones (verses 3, 13)those who-questioo-and-inquire (verse 7)

those gone astray (8.30, 95)

doing-what-is.fight and appropriate (9,101)sincerely meaning·weU (II, 46)guarding and prorecting (12, 55, 63, 64, 65. 81)

Ihose suffering loss (14)the unaware (IS, 107)"night-bJind"/dimsighted (16)

those spealting-ttllthfully (17. 26. 27, 46, 51, 82)rhosewhohavefaith(l7,57,64,lll)

"Beautiful SAIlR" (18, 83)

"most of the people" (Negatively: 21, 38, 40, 68)[and "the people" (neutral or positive: 38,46, 49)]

the not-knowing (21, 40, 44, 51, 68, 80, 81. 86, 97)

the MUHSINUN (22, 36, 56, 78, 90, 1(0)

the wrongdoers (23,75, 79)

Those who lIU1y-flourish (23)

[God's "scheming": 16]

forgiving/seeking forgiveness (29, 92, 97, 98)

the lowly ones (32)

the scheming ones (28, SO, 52, 102)

the erring ones (29, 91, 97)

the ignorant-and-foolish ones (33, 89)

no. baving faiah (31,103,106)rejecting (God/next-world) (37, 87)

DOl giving thanks (38)Remembering (God: dhikr) (42, 45) forgetting (42)

those who beuay (52)

KNOWING C'from God") (6, 21. 22, 37, 55.68,76.83,96,1(0)

those who are MINDFUL (of God) (57, 90, 109)

those who deny/don'. recognize (58, 81)those who give hospitality (59)those-who-trust (in God) (66, 67)

those who pass away (85)those who despair (87, 110)

those who are charilable (88)

those who are SEEINO (93, 96, lOS)those having (divine) SECURITY (99, 107)surrendesed (10 God) (101)

223

caIling/praying (God) (lOS)

praising (God) (lOS)

observinglrel1ecting (on SIGNS) (109)

lhose who have (purified) H!lAltTS (111)

James Morris

those turning away/passing by (l05)!hose "associating" (others wi!h God) (106. lOS)

those who don't Wlderstand (109)those who do hann (110)

224

'.'•

•

'J

II

calJinBilnyine (God) (108)

pnWll& (God) (108)

observinVefle<tin1 (on SlaHs) (109)

diose who ha.e (p",med) HE.u:rs (Ill)

James Morris

diose wmine away!pass;"I by (105)

diose """""ialine" (oohen w;tII God) (106, 108)

diose who don', undentand (109)

diose who do harm (110)

224